What do you think?
Rate this book
Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels
There have been many studies of the women in the Gospels, but this is a new kind of book on the subject. Rather than offering a general overview of the Gospel women or focusing on a single theme, Richard Bauckham studies in great depth both the individual women who appear in the Gospels and the specific passages in which they appear.
This unique approach reveals that there is much more to be known about such women than previous studies have assumed. Employing historical and literary readings of the biblical texts, Bauckham successfully captures the particularity of each woman he studies.
An opening look at the Old Testament book of Ruth introduces the possibilities of reading Scripture from a woman's perspective. Other studies examine the women found in Matthew's genealogies, the prophet Anna, Mary of Clopas, Joanna, Salome, and the women featured in the Gospel resurrection narrative. A number of these women have never been the subject of deep theological enquiry.
Unlike most recent books, Bauckham's work is not dominated by a feminist agenda. It does not presume in advance that the Gospel texts support patriarchal oppression, but it does venture some of the new and surprising possibilities that arise when the texts are read from the perspective of their female characters.
Astute, sensitive to issues of gender, and written by one of today's leading theologians, Gospel Women will be of interest to a wide range of readers.
This unique approach reveals that there is much more to be known about such women than previous studies have assumed. Employing historical and literary readings of the biblical texts, Bauckham successfully captures the particularity of each woman he studies.
An opening look at the Old Testament book of Ruth introduces the possibilities of reading Scripture from a woman's perspective. Other studies examine the women found in Matthew's genealogies, the prophet Anna, Mary of Clopas, Joanna, Salome, and the women featured in the Gospel resurrection narrative. A number of these women have never been the subject of deep theological enquiry.
Unlike most recent books, Bauckham's work is not dominated by a feminist agenda. It does not presume in advance that the Gospel texts support patriarchal oppression, but it does venture some of the new and surprising possibilities that arise when the texts are read from the perspective of their female characters.
Astute, sensitive to issues of gender, and written by one of today's leading theologians, Gospel Women will be of interest to a wide range of readers.
343 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
18 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
About the author
Richard Bauckham
93 books258 followersRichard Bauckham (PhD, University of Cambridge) is senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England, where he teaches for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. He is also a visiting professor at St. Mellitus College, London, and emeritus professor of New Testament at the University of St. Andrews. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the author of numerous books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 10, 2023
The role of women in our salvation history, not imaginary Proverbs 31 role playing women but actual women in both Old and New Testament accounts, is documented in this erudite work. Women are present and accounted for here.
Women were present at the incarnation. They were followers and financial supporters (Bauckham explains how women may have had independent means) of Jesus from the earliest days of his Galilean ministry. They followed him to Jerusalem, to the cross, to the burial, and to the empty tomb. They were authoritative apostolic witnesses of these events in the early Christian community. Their telling and retelling of these events shaped the Gospel tradition.
With this book Baukham shines a much-needed light onto the world of women in Scripture, a world gone dark in androcentric settings such as the church. Church leaders like to talk about roles.
He also wants us to recognize the gynocentric voices within Scripture, e.g., Luke 1 & 2.
Baukham knows early Judaism and early Christianity, so this book is not a glancing or half-baked account of women in Scripture. He brings the detail with extensive footnotes.
He is also familiar with feminist criticism and discusses where it goes amiss and where it is spot on.
This book Is not a book promoting women in ministry. But the book’s account of women used by God as agents of salvation suggests to me that women of the caliber described in the book (the apostle Junia, for one) do have a place in ministry despite out of context readings of 1 Timothy 2:14.
Women were present at the incarnation. They were followers and financial supporters (Bauckham explains how women may have had independent means) of Jesus from the earliest days of his Galilean ministry. They followed him to Jerusalem, to the cross, to the burial, and to the empty tomb. They were authoritative apostolic witnesses of these events in the early Christian community. Their telling and retelling of these events shaped the Gospel tradition.
With this book Baukham shines a much-needed light onto the world of women in Scripture, a world gone dark in androcentric settings such as the church. Church leaders like to talk about roles.
He also wants us to recognize the gynocentric voices within Scripture, e.g., Luke 1 & 2.
Baukham knows early Judaism and early Christianity, so this book is not a glancing or half-baked account of women in Scripture. He brings the detail with extensive footnotes.
He is also familiar with feminist criticism and discusses where it goes amiss and where it is spot on.
This book Is not a book promoting women in ministry. But the book’s account of women used by God as agents of salvation suggests to me that women of the caliber described in the book (the apostle Junia, for one) do have a place in ministry despite out of context readings of 1 Timothy 2:14.
January 9, 2025
This is a wonderful collection of eight essays that I highly recommend. The first deals with the unique contributions that the gynocentric narrative of the book of Ruth makes to the Hebrew canon of scripture. The book of Ruth has a focus on everyday life in Israel, a sphere in which women played a more prominent role than they did in politics or public life.
Essays two through eight are about the named women in the Gospels. The second looks at Matthew's genealogy of Jesus and rhe messages communicated by the inclusion of four women---Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba---in the genealogy. The third is about the structure and message of Luke 1, another gynocentric narrative.
The fourth through sixth essays are about three women who are only briefly mentioned in the Gospels---Anna the prophetess in Luke 2; Joanna in Luke 8, 23-24; and Mary the wife of Clopas in John 19. Bauckham is able to say an amazing amount about these women through some historical and biblical detective work. He makes a plausible case for Joanna as the apostle Junia of Romans 16.
The seventh essay is about the disciple Salome, who is mentioned in Mark 15:40; 16:1. Her name arises in a number of extrabiblical Christian texts, including "Secret Mark." Bauckham makes a proposal about what the extra pasasges quoted by Clement of Alexandria are trying to accomplish.
The eighth essay is an extensive and insightful discussion of the importance of the female witnesses to the resurrection reported in the Gospels.
Essays two through eight are about the named women in the Gospels. The second looks at Matthew's genealogy of Jesus and rhe messages communicated by the inclusion of four women---Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba---in the genealogy. The third is about the structure and message of Luke 1, another gynocentric narrative.
The fourth through sixth essays are about three women who are only briefly mentioned in the Gospels---Anna the prophetess in Luke 2; Joanna in Luke 8, 23-24; and Mary the wife of Clopas in John 19. Bauckham is able to say an amazing amount about these women through some historical and biblical detective work. He makes a plausible case for Joanna as the apostle Junia of Romans 16.
The seventh essay is about the disciple Salome, who is mentioned in Mark 15:40; 16:1. Her name arises in a number of extrabiblical Christian texts, including "Secret Mark." Bauckham makes a proposal about what the extra pasasges quoted by Clement of Alexandria are trying to accomplish.
The eighth essay is an extensive and insightful discussion of the importance of the female witnesses to the resurrection reported in the Gospels.
Read
October 11, 2022Richard Bauckham is one of the brightest and elite NT scholars alive today. This work is well-researched and pulls out much on lesser known women in the Bible than many scholars have. This is definitely a work for those somewhat acquainted with denser theological works, or for someone who wants a good challenge and looking to dive into Second Temple Literature.
As is the case in some of his other works, here Bauckham attempts to craft a "middle way" between 1) evangelical theology and 2) the broader scholarly guild. He does not explicitly make such statements, but it is evident in his shifting between feminist interpretations and more conservative methods of historical and literary approaches to interpreting women in the Gospels, but really Old Testament women as well. To be fair, he does represent both with even-handedness.
However, unlike Bauckham, the present reviewer does not consider feminist interpretations to understanding the gospel women to be a friend. These are two directly opposed systems of approaching the text that the author shifts between, and a middle way is not (cannot!) to be had. One approaches the text and interprets it at face value; the other reads biases into the text gynocentrically, reconstructs accounts, etc. Whether you are a feminist or an evangelical, this work definitely brings more data to the arguments and challenges both sides. For evangelicals, though, this work should be read very closely and carefully.
As is the case in some of his other works, here Bauckham attempts to craft a "middle way" between 1) evangelical theology and 2) the broader scholarly guild. He does not explicitly make such statements, but it is evident in his shifting between feminist interpretations and more conservative methods of historical and literary approaches to interpreting women in the Gospels, but really Old Testament women as well. To be fair, he does represent both with even-handedness.
However, unlike Bauckham, the present reviewer does not consider feminist interpretations to understanding the gospel women to be a friend. These are two directly opposed systems of approaching the text that the author shifts between, and a middle way is not (cannot!) to be had. One approaches the text and interprets it at face value; the other reads biases into the text gynocentrically, reconstructs accounts, etc. Whether you are a feminist or an evangelical, this work definitely brings more data to the arguments and challenges both sides. For evangelicals, though, this work should be read very closely and carefully.
October 23, 2025
This is a well-researched and erudite work on the women recorded in the Gospel accounts. Most books on women in the Bible are apologetic in nature and focused on the theology of women in ministry - this book is not of that kind. Instead, Bauckham is interested in more complex issues of interpretation and in the historical reconstruction of the women's lives and their involvement in the early church. Bauckham gets in the weeds here fairly often, so the reader must beware that this is an academic work, but Bauckham is always insightful and even in his speculations he is always reasonable. Particularly intriguing for me was the chapter on Mary of Clopas and the various ways that the reference to her leads us down a path of discovery regarding Jesus' extended family. This is an excellent book full of information, and it isn't distracted by an overly apologetic purpose.
March 4, 2020
I loved reading this book! I love church history and this book explains all the known historical context of the women named in the Gospels. There is so much to learn from this book; the author's conclusion is that the women contribute greatly and uniquely to the eyewitness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
This book is a little academic and it is helpful to be able to read a little Greek, know about the history of biblical Palestine, and understand Jewish culture in biblical Palestine. There are some parts where it is helpful to know about gnostic sects and apocryphal literature. Even so, you can always start learning that stuff with this book and take away so much from the main focus.
This book is a little academic and it is helpful to be able to read a little Greek, know about the history of biblical Palestine, and understand Jewish culture in biblical Palestine. There are some parts where it is helpful to know about gnostic sects and apocryphal literature. Even so, you can always start learning that stuff with this book and take away so much from the main focus.
February 24, 2018
This book was well worth reading...It is an academic but very readable treatment of the named women in the four gospels of the New Testament (who are only fifteen - although many more are named in Acts and the Letters.) Bauckham goes into various aspects of the background, role and importance of the named women. He reviews different points of view, giving a lot of time and credit to feminist theologians, and gives his well-argued conclusions and opinions. The final chapter is especially interesting on the various women who play a part in the resurrection narratives. I am so pleased I read it - I feel closer to these often overlooked women now.
November 1, 2021
Bauckham writes from an academic perspective so there's a ton of research to wade through making it a slow and tedious read thus the rating of 3 stars. But it's eye opening scholarship on the important role of women in the gospels, in the church and God's kingdom that has more often been ignored or suppressed.
November 21, 2022
Fascinating background history to the named women of the Gospels. A good portion of this went over my head, since I don't know Greek, but the arguments I followed we're strong and led to some very interesting details, especially around the women who witnessed the resurrection and Joanna who funded Jesus' ministry.
Read
April 13, 2022Read for Hilary Term Primary Tutorial: Women of Early Christianity
March 30, 2023
Out of this world. Took a month- totally worth it- amazing.
March 17, 2013
An interesting study of some of the women named in the Bible gospels. It is not covering all women, nor all situations but the ones where the author feels like he has something to contribute. The main focus of the study is to understand what the texts say about the women and see it in the light of the time and place the texts were written - it is a lot about understanding the Jewish society from which the writers came.
Read
August 22, 2016Another abandoned book. When the author started throwing out terms like "androcentric," I knew I wasn't going to meet my 50-word minimum for deciding whether or not I planned to finish a book. (Though I suppose the copious footnotes should've told me this book was on an intellectual plane I'm not currently aspiring toward.)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews